California announces two air contaminants pose higher cancer risks than benzene

Two toxic air pollutants found in California’s ambient air appear to be much more potent carcinogens than previously known, state environmental health officials announced Thursday.

The draft finding from the state Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment finds that acrolein and ethylene oxide may pose an estimated cancer risk 10 times greater than benzene, a serious carcinogen linked to leukemia and other cancers.

This is the first step in the review process before final risk values ​​are adopted and comes at a time when federal air quality regulations are being reined in.

“If early air monitoring results are confirmed and the draft cancer values ​​developed are close to the final version, then each air pollutant poses an unacceptable cancer risk,” said Kris Thayer, OEHHA’s administrator.

The update reflects the state’s evolving understanding of the most hazardous pollutants; This understanding has been shifting for decades from visible pollutants like smog to more invisible pollutants that cause cancer, heart disease and other health harms.

This comes just two months after the Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency moved to roll back standards on ethylene oxide, or EtO, in an effort to save millions of dollars in compliance costs for facilities that use the chemical for medical sterilization. The administration said it was moving to “secure the supply of essential medical equipment,” but experts said the move would also expose more people to health risks.

This also follows a new national report from the American Lung Assn. The research found that 82 percent of Californians live in counties with unhealthy air, nearly twice the national average.

“This is an important step toward better understanding the harms of pollutants affecting the health of Californians,” said Will Barrett, vice president of nationwide clean air policy for the American Lung Assn., who reviewed the state’s findings for The Times. “Following the latest available health science to determine risk is critical to maintaining health.”

Ethylene oxide is a colorless gas often used in the sterilization of medical devices, especially those that cannot be cleaned using steam or radiation.

Acrolein can be formed when materials such as cigarettes, e-cigarettes and e-cigarettes, wood, plastic and automobile, truck, ship and aviation gasoline are burned. It can also be released by cooking fats and oils at high temperatures and is found in water produced during oil and gas operations and is a component of some pesticides used in irrigation canals.

People can take steps to protect themselves from acrolein exposure in daily life by avoiding smoking tobacco or using e-cigarettes and vaping products, avoiding smoke from fires or exhaust from diesel and gasoline vehicles and equipment, many of which can also help reduce ethylene oxide exposure, officials said. When cooking with oils or fats, people should avoid very high temperatures and use a hood fan if possible.

Both chemicals have been present in the state’s air for years, but OEHHA’s new assessments are based on the latest science on health risks, officials said. The agency said both acrolein and ethylene oxide were found to pose an estimated cancer risk exceeding 800 in 1 million; This rate is on par with the cancer risk estimated to have been posed by diesel exhaust when it first emerged as a major public health problem in the 1990s.

In response to the findings, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s May budget revision released Thursday includes $2.5 million in funding for the California Air Resources Board and OEHHA to support research to help reduce human exposure to acrolein and ethylene oxide. The funding will help the state identify and track major sources of the chemicals and translate findings into public health policy implications, officials said.

OEHHA’s assessment provides the first cancer risk value since acrolein was classified. probably causes cancer in humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer in 2020. Ethylene oxide had already been identified as a carcinogen by the government, but the new assessment updates risk levels based on new research. Risk calculations are based on weather monitoring data, which varies by state, depending on location, nearby resources and other factors.

The findings underscore the state’s efforts to strengthen environmental protections for residents at a time when federal officials are trying to loosen them, officials said.

“This underscores how important the work we do in California is, especially in light of some of the national setbacks we’ve seen in protecting public health,” said Courtney Smith, deputy chief administrator of the Air Resources Board. “Not only to protect the health of Californians, but also to ensure that rigorous, robust science is available to other entities that may seek additional protection.”

According to federal law, short-term inhalation exposure to EtO may cause headache, dizziness, nausea, fatigue, respiratory irritation, and other adverse health effects. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Long-term exposure increases the risk of breast cancer, as well as white blood cell cancers such as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Inhalation of acrolein may cause nose and throat irritation and decreased respiratory rate. Chronic exposures such as cigarette smoke linked It causes the development of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and respiratory tract cancers.

The findings come as California continues to receive poor marks for air quality. American Lung Assn. annual Weather The report found that the five U.S. counties with the worst smog pollution are all in California. Bakersfield had the worst year-round particle pollution metropolitan area for the seventh consecutive year, while Los Angeles had the worst ozone pollution for 26 of the past 27 years.

“Californians face some of the most significant smog and soot challenges in the country, but our air agencies have followed the science to create policies and programs that will make real progress,” Barrett said. The state’s latest assessment “speaks to the need for continued local efforts as the federal government ignores science and opens the door to more pollution. California must continue to invest in things like cleaning up truck fleets, broader public education, and basic science to guide policies to protect health.”

Thursday’s announcement kicks off a 45-day public comment period; Draft assessments may then be subject to additional public comment, peer review by the state’s Scientific Review Panel on Toxic Air Pollutants, and revision before final adoption.